Window trim or “Be careful what you start…” (Part 2)

As I predicted in part 1 of this blog entry, completing the stripping of the paint required another 5 or so hours. I finally finished up around 1 AM exhausted but happy to be done.

I had decided to not use stripper for this window and, instead, rely on the radiant heater and scrapers. While this works well, no matter how careful you are, there is still some gouging that occurs.

As a result of this, and the significant existing damage to the window stool, I had to pull out the polyester resin to skin coat the casing and rebuild the edge of the stool.

It also provides a great way to smooth the transition between the existing casing and the pine extension that was added.

Once everything was set, it was just a matter of some sanding to smooth everything out. A bit of caulk at the joints and things are ready for painting. Of course, this was hours of work but, as with most things you do in renovations, the preparation is everything. The level of effort put in at this stage is directly proportional to the ease of painting and the quality of the final outcome.

I know it is hard to see in this picture but everything is wonderfully smooth and the painted results should be amazing. This also gave me a chance to free the window stops (the stick like pieces you can see in the earlier pictures) which will make things much simpler when I get around to reworking the sashes. For the time being though, I’ll leave them as is in the interest of getting the bathroom in working order sooner rather than later. I can always come back to the sashes but until I get the casing done, I can’t get the blinds re-installed.

Tomorrow is paint and everything should come together.

People interested in seeing the full renovation process as tracked in this blog should start here.